As such, social media has been a huge part of my development into an adult. In fact, I thought it was somewhat odd to even talk about the advantages and disadvantages of websites such as Facebook and Twitter in some of my classes because that was never factored into my decision process of whether or not I would partake in these sites.

When I was 14, I made a MySpace, then a Facebook profile at 16, a Twitter account at 18, and now that I’m 20, I’ve started blogging and thinking about joining sites geared more towards the professional world. It’s been a pretty natural progression in my life, and I definitely anticipate myself continuing to be enthusiastic about social media.

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/generation-y-and-social-media/feed/0landrytaylorTwitter turns 5!https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/twitter-turns-5/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/twitter-turns-5/#respondMon, 21 Mar 2011 19:49:45 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=31]]>Its Monday, which means back to the real world, Spring Break 2011 is over, and SXSW is over. I personally don’t have much to report about SXSW because I was one of the unlucky participants to not have a badge and was under 21, severely limiting my options. But I’m not here to complain.

So, while we mourn the end of Spring Break and SXSW, we can also celebrate because today is Twitter’s 5th brithday!

Twitter, since then, has accomplished some pretty major milestones and proven to be a great tool in the professional world, especially in PR. One of the milestones was Twitter’s debut at SXSW in 2007. I know right? How appropriate.

So Happy Birthday Twitter.

R.I.P. Spring Break 2011

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/twitter-turns-5/feed/0landrytaylorJess Manocchio and Corporate PRhttps://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/jess-manocchio-and-corporate-pr/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/jess-manocchio-and-corporate-pr/#respondTue, 08 Mar 2011 01:58:45 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=28]]>Last Monday in my PR class, we had corporate PR professional Jess Manocchio to come speak about her experience in the industry. Sadly, I was not in class that day on the account of I was sick.

However, being the social media fanatic that I am, I followed my professor’s tweets of the key points as she tweeted throughout class. And even though I was not actually present, I still learned some good points:

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/jess-manocchio-and-corporate-pr/feed/0landrytaylorI’d like to thank the Academy…https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/id-like-to-thank-the-academy/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/id-like-to-thank-the-academy/#commentsMon, 28 Feb 2011 16:21:06 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=26]]>Last night, I, and countless other people all over the world, tuned in to ABC to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. It was pretty exciting stuff. I love being able to see all the nominees and presenters arrive on the red carpet. I love Anne Hathaway (and James Franco, despite his less than stellar performance as a host). I love almost every single film that was up for an award last night.

However, watching the show got me thinking about what goes on behind the scenes. Director of Communications Leslie Unger is the woman in charge of it all. And I think she did an excellent job. In the article (linked above), she explains a little of what her job entails running such a prestigious awards show, which I found very interesting.

3. Audience: Austin-area college students age 18-25 that value environmentally friendly products.

4. Strategies: Social media popular among college students will be used as well as promotional coupons to increase awareness of Fresh Beans.

5. Tactics: Fresh Beans will become participants on Foursquare, Yelp!, Gowalla, and Facebook Pages to entice new customers. There will also be a Facebook page created for informing students that Fresh Beans exists and their mission. A Twitter account will be created to inform students of deals and new products. Coupons will be distributed at the University of Texas, St. Edwards, and Austin Community College campuses to increase awareness of Fresh Beans and entice new customers.

6. Calendar: A three month plan will be enacted to increase awareness and sales by 3%. In the first month, all social media accounts will be started. The Twitter account will start following all Austin-area college students linking to the Facebook page. Start a promotional deal that everyone that “likes” the Fresh Beans Facebook page will receive a deal. Distribute coupons on all campuses that first-time customers will receive a deal. Implement rewards cards for frequent visitors. Set up accounts with Foursquare, Yelp!, and Gowalla. In the second month, end the initial promotional campaign and start offering deals to everyone that “checks-in” on their mobile device. Maintain rewards cards for frequent visitors. Get free coverage in campus newspapers. In the third month, offer deals to anyone that refers a friend on Facebook. Continue utilizing social media campaigns.

7. Budget: No money from Fresh Beans is being used in this three-month campaign.

8. Measurement: Increase sales by 3%.

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/mini-pr-plan/feed/0landrytaylorThe PR Channel:https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/the-pr-channel/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/the-pr-channel/#commentsMon, 14 Feb 2011 20:33:29 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=21]]>This week in my PR class, we had guest speakers LuAnn Glowacz and Christine Cox from the PR Channel talk to us about their experience in the PR world. They gave us some great insight into what we should be doing as students to aide us in our future careers, such as really honing our writing skills, snagging as many internships as possible, and how blog commenting is just as important as actually blogging.

They really made me feel at ease concerning my transition from the academic world to the professional world by giving me such great tips. They totally sold me on PR as a career path, and I thank them for that.

So, following class last Wednesday, I started a new project. One of my best friends and I started a new blog. It is in the beginning stages, so there is not much to report. However, it is designed to help us in our job searches in a couple years. As soon as we have some content I will post the link on here. I really hope y’all will read it and give us feedback at that time!

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/the-pr-channel/feed/1landrytaylorFlash Ah-ahttps://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/flash-ah-a/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/flash-ah-a/#respondMon, 07 Feb 2011 20:13:04 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=18]]>As you think about your future in the PR world, take into consideration the fact that you’ll probably have to design a website of some sort. I found a post outlining seven ways to annoy your website visitors. I thought these tips were useful because they held true to my web-surfing habits.

However, number 7 (too much flash) immediately made me think of another website that I wanted to mention because it totally proves this wrong (in my opinion).

Recently, I was in the market for a new case for my precious iPhone. So, after a quick Google search, I found possibly the coolest website ever.

Imakemycase.com is a website that let’s you design your own case using designs artists have contributed. It is so fun, I could spend hours designing without any intention of actually purchasing a case. Also, take notice (because I know you are looking at the website, right?) that in the upper right-hand corner that the site has won a Webby Award for the website.

So I just wanted you to keep in my mind that having a lot of Flash incorporated into your website is not necessarily a bad thing. It could encourage people to actually spend more time on your site than they otherwise would.

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/flash-ah-a/feed/0landrytaylorQuality vs. Quantityhttps://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/quality-vs-quantity/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/quality-vs-quantity/#commentsMon, 31 Jan 2011 20:25:08 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=13]]>To be honest, I think a lot about how my online identity is perceived by other people. I have accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and everything I post I take into consideration of how it will make me appear before I click ‘post.’ I think I’m somewhat unique in that aspect when it comes to other people my age (but feel free to correct me) because I spend the majority of my time on Facebook scrolling through the nonsense my peers decide to share with the world.

As I am marketing myself and maintaining a certain image that I hope will benefit me in my professional PR endeavors, I am glad to know that having less than 500 friends on Facebook or Twitter followers won’t hinder me. Quality matters more than quantity.

I’m still going to post song lyrics I like and YouTube videos I think are hilarious (even if they’re pretty ridiculous), but I’m glad I don’t have to go and add a bunch of people I hardly know to make myself look like a social butterfly.

]]>https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/quality-vs-quantity/feed/2landrytaylorCalling All Hipsters:https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/calling-all-hipsters/
https://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/calling-all-hipsters/#commentsWed, 26 Jan 2011 20:31:57 +0000http://landrytaylor.wordpress.com/?p=9]]>If you live in Austin, TX, then you will have undoubtedly come across one, or one-hundred, people that identify themselves as “hipsters.” If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, they are the young adults (about 15-30 years old) with fake Buddy Holly glasses and ironic t-shirts. In fact, the definition of Hipster is very vague, making it possible for just about anyone to fall under this category.

Regardless, there is a social networking site coming just for this demographic. Usehipster.com has been vaguely (go figure) identified as a combination of Foursquare, Twitter, and Quora. Someone recognized a growing public and created one spot these like-minded people can get information they deem important (like who is the best locally-owned Thai restaurant in town).

So, if you live in Austin, San Francisco, New York City, or Los Angeles, and think you may be a hipster, then check it out. If not, you’re so “midtown.”